


Ships In The Night

by My_Marvel_Musings



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-11-27 07:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18191312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Marvel_Musings/pseuds/My_Marvel_Musings
Summary: Reader discovers that the one and only Hawkeye is her soulmate. Unfortunately for her, Natasha doesn’t think she’s good enough for her best friend and does everything in her power to keep Clint from finding out.Requested by boredcheeta84





	1. Nice Tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> Might be 3 chapters, maybe more or less. Lol! I have no idea. I just know this is gonna be angsty as hell per request!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is a bartender at a pretty seedy bar where a couple of Avengers come wandering in.

"Goddamnit! I swear to fuck if I have to break up another fight between you morons, you're getting banned for a month!" You threatened over the bar at two of your regulars. They each had a pool cue in their hands and were in fighting positions. 

Your voice carried easily over the shouts and loud music, causing everyone to freeze in place. The two regulars slowly turned to look at you over at the bar, their eyes carefully watching as you slowly reached below the bar top. Rumor had it you kept a gun there, but no one had been stupid enough to actually call you on it. They knew of your past and what you were capable of; it was why you didn't really need security at your bar. The regulars who were about to fight were big men that could easily tower over you. But it didn't matter; your reputation was well known in certain circles.

Slowly, while keeping their eyes on you, they began to lower their pool cues. The larger of the two spoke first. "Sorry, Equinox. Just can't stand cheaters."

"I DIDN'T-" The other man stupidly started, lifting the pool cue again.

Before he could finish his sentence, you were up and over your own bar, had twisted the pool cue out of his hand, and - in a series of blinding fast moves - you had him face down against the pool table with the mythical gun pressed against the back of his head. Your tone of voice was alarmingly calm. "I'm sorry, did I misspeak earlier? Or are you really that stupid?"

The man's words came out in a rush. "I'm sorry, Equinox! I didn't mean it! I promise to behave!"

"Damn straight you will. Starting in thirty days. Get the fuck out of here before you make me find a place to hide your body."

He couldn't scramble to his feet and out the door fast enough. You slowly turned to look at each person in the bar, your gun down at your side but clearly visible.

"Is anyone else thinking of redecorating my bar without my permission?"

The silence was deafening. Even the music had stopped. You walked over to stand back behind the bar once more and your crew snapped back into work at a lightning pace. Soon the rest of the place followed suit. As you placed your gun back in its hiding spot, two strangers saddled up at the bar. You glanced up and then did a double take. Pressing your lips into a thin line, you leaned over the bar, your left hand on the surface to steady you.

"No offence, but this place isn't exactly for your kind."

A pair of green eyes met yours and a smirk soon followed. "We'll take our chances."

"Let me be more frank: my customers would appreciate it if the Avengers kept their asses out of here."

The Black Widow's smirk stayed put. "Don't worry, we'll leave your people alone."

You let out a sigh through your nose but let it go. The man next to her finally turned to face you and you were caught by his blue eyes. Something stirred when your eyes met, something in the back of your head.... and on your left wrist. Adjusting the leather band around your wrist, you turned away from Hawkeye's gaze.

"Well if you insist on staying, what'll you guys have?"

"Just a couple of beers. We're not picky." Hawkeye's voice sent your wrist itching like crazy. You grabbed their beers and then excused yourself from behind the bar. 

Hawkeye immediately started drinking while Nat watched you walk away, scratching at your wrist the whole time. When he thought she wasn't looking, Clint stuck a finger under his arm guard to rub at the mark on his left wrist. Nat's hand shot out and grabbed his.

"Let me see it."

"C'mon, Nat. You've seen it before." Clint tried to pull his hand away but Nat wouldn't let go. "It's not acting up, I promise. My wrist is just itchy."

"Mhmm. Let. Me. See. It."

Clint sighed and removed his wrist guard. Nat pulled his arm closer to look at the mark. Everyone was born with a soulmate marker, it was common knowledge. To make it easy to spot your other half without question, the marks were the same size and on the same place on each person. And it was an image that pertained to your soulmate and no one else. Something unique to you. Clint had been born with a tiny phoenix rising out of flames on the inside of his wrist. Nat pressed her finger to the mark and Clint winced.

"Well, whomever it belongs to is clearly in this bar." Nat let go of his arm and picked up her beer.

"Yeah, well what does it matter? I've never tried to look for them before and there's no point in starting now. Especially if they're a regular here. Highly doubt they'd want an Avenger for a soulmate." Clint grumbled as he put his guard back on.

"Good idea to keep in mind." Nat looked up as you came back behind the bar to help the staff out.

You barked orders at the staff and threats to the patrons that were trying to harass your women customers. Nat could see that you ran a tight shift and that no one would ever think of stepping out of line in your place. She also noticed how you kept tugging at the leather strap around your wrist every so often and would avoid looking in Clint's direction.

"Hey, Equinox! What the fuck is that about?!" The biker from earlier gestured at Nat and Clint sitting at the bar. "Since when do you allow snitches in here?!"

Before Nat could turn around, you leveled a gaze at the man. "I'm sorry, are you telling me who can and cannot have a beer in my bar?"

His eyes got wide. "N-no. I'm j-just saying-"

"That what? I don't know how to take care of my own business? That you know better than me, _Clark_?" Your voice was ice cold.

The man grew red in the face as people around him began to snicker. 

"Clark?"

"Razor's name is Clark?!"

He whirled around preparing to fight, but all eyes fell on you and the laughing stopped. Razor slowly turned to see you now standing on your bar. 

"Clark, you're done for tonight. Don't even bother finishing your drink. Take your shit and leave."

"For the thirty days?" He looked up at you hopefully.

"Until I say otherwise."

Instead of arguing, Razor nodded his head and left for the door. The bar remained quieter this time around and Clint and Nat looked around, baffled at the control you had without any effort. They watched you step down and wipe the area where your shoes had just been.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" You barely spared Hawkeye a glance up. It was unnerving how good looking you were finding him and you needed to focus.

"Control the room like that." Nat finished for him. "It's like they're terrified of you, but they clearly out number and out power you."

"That's not your concern, now is it?"

"Whatever you say, _Equinox_." Nat smirked at you.

"Just call me _____. Only the regulars call me otherwise."

"Who says we won't become regulars?"

"I do. I don't need you, or the Avengers, or SHIELD, or whoever the fuck you work for sniffing around here. This is one of the few places where my patrons can feel safe and I don't need that shit." You kept yourself busy behind the bar, but made no attempt to hide the threat. "You two will not be coming back after tonight."

Nat watched you with an experienced gaze, measuring your every movement. When she watched you leave the bar to hit the ladies room, she was your shadow in that moment. 

Inside the bathroom, you quickly removed your leather band to scratch at your soulmate mark. It had been going crazy ever since the two Avengers came wandering in and you hated what that could mean. Before you had a chance to cover it again, Nat's hand shot out and grabbed your wrist.

"Hey! Let go!"

But instead she flipped your wrist over to look at your mark: a tiny purple arrow. 

"So. They call you Equinox, huh? Is that because of all the drama that surrounds the name Firebird?"


	2. Firebird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Natasha go over their past. Nat keeps Clint in the dark about his soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a side note: the three fics I'm writing right now I will try to have completed by April 14th. If you've read enough of my stories you know on top of Marvel I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan (books and show) and once the final season starts, my brain will become mush. Plus I'll be crying into a bottle of wine (two when Endgame comes out). 
> 
> But requests will remain open! Request in the comment section of any of my works (sorry I don't have my request page anymore *side eyes whoever reported that. Freaking killjoy.*). Or go to my-marvel-musings on Tumblr to request there and see my list of who I will already write for in regards to Marvel (MCU and comic book wise). You can also request for someone not on my list and I'll see if I can make it happen.
> 
> Thanks everyone!

"So you're the infamous Firebird? You're not at all what I expected." Nat watched as you tied your leather band back on.

"The feeling is mutual, Widow." You looked her up and down, trying to remember if you ever had actually seen her face before this day while out in the field. "Your reputation precedes you."

"As does yours. Now it makes more sense as to why you have so much control over your bar." She leaned back against one of the bathroom stalls. "So when did you leave the life?"

"Five years ago, give or take. You?"

"More. Probably closer to fifteen."

"Damn, I'm impressed. How did the KGB take it?"

"Probably as well as Hydra did."

You smirked at her, "yeah, they were clearly over the moon. They lost their two greatest assassins in one fell swoop. How is Bucky doing? Rumor has it he's finally an Avenger."

"He is. Had to make a stop at Wakanda for deprogramming." She narrowed her eyes at you. "But why did you leave? We all get why he did."

"Actually, my reasons weren't so different from yours. But instead of a SHIELD agent, it was an X-Men."

"Really? Is it because of your mutation?"

"Partly. But mostly Professor Xavier hates to know when someone is suffering when they don't need to be. He knew that wasn't the life I would have chosen for myself, but just like you I was raised in it and never was the wiser to what could be out there for me."

"But you never joined his team."

"No. I was done fighting. Done using my fire powers to harm people. So I opened this bar. It gives my patrons somewhere other than St. Mary's to slither around in."

"So instead of fighting, you just enable those who want to." She pushed herself off the stall to stand in your face. "What makes that better than what you did before?"

"No one is dying by my hand. Not ever again. And if they were..." you paused and licked your lips. "Well, let's just say if anyone were to die soon at my hands I would be doing the world a favor. Don't you agree? Or is it hard to see from your high horse?"

"Don't compare us!"

"Why not?! We're cut from the same cloth, dearest Black Widow. Children raised by the evil in this world to do what they won't. No families, no real lives, no real personas, always trying to repent for what we had done. But no matter what we do, it'll never be enough, will it? We'll always have a trail of red behind us."

Nat's eyes burned with fire as she looked at you. She couldn't believe this was the person who was Clint's soulmate. It was a disappointment to find out it wasn't herself, but she had hoped whomever it was to be would be the best person for the job. But a fellow former assassin? Not on her watch. 

She turned towards the door, "you win. Clint and I are leaving and we won't be back."

Because of how the two of you were trained, you could read so much from just a few words. In that instant, you understood who your soulmate was. "Is it because I said you had to? Or is it because I'm not good enough for him, despites the fates saying otherwise?"

Nat didn't respond, just reached for the door.

"Or is it because if it couldn't be you, it can't be anyone?"

She was lightning fast in her reaction, but you were her match in every way. You dodged her fist easily and used the momentum to flip her over. Nat easily latched onto your hand and brought you down with her, moving to slam your head against the floor. But you shifted your weight at the last moment and she ended up rolling off of you. You both jumped to your feet and prepared to attack again when the bathroom door swung open. A woman stood there with her jaw open.

"Oh, sorry Equinox! I didn't mean-"

Both you and Nat lowered your hands but never moved your eyes. "It's ok. She was just leaving. Weren't you?"

"Of course. I'll grab my friend and go." You stayed locked on each other until she had left the room. Nat moved with purpose over to her friend who was still sitting at the bar as if nothing was going on. "We're going. Get up, Clint."

Clint choked on his beer when Nat slammed money onto the bar in front of him. "Going? What the hell are you talking about, Nat? We just got here."

"I said we're going. Now. That bitch that owns this place wants us gone anyway so get up, Barton."

"But I was thinking, if my soulmate is here-"

"Then she's some cunt you need to stay away from!" Nat grabbed his beer and tossed into the trash behind the bar. "Get. Up. Barton. You don't need whatever scum is slinking around in here as a soulmate."

Clint looked up at her in surprise. Nat had always seemed supportive in regards to his soulmate. True, he never really made an effort to look, but she knew he was open to the possibility of one day finding her. And now that it seemed he was closer than ever before, she wanted to rip it away from him. "Nat."

She paused at the pain and confusion in his voice. Nat hated that she was the one hurting him, but if he knew what she did - who his soulmate was - he'd thank her. But the less he knew, the better. "Let's go, Barton. I'm not asking you."

Clint nodded his head and stood up to leave. It was at that moment you returned to stand behind the bar. You grabbed the money that Nat left behind and gave the change to your staff to split. Clint watched you for a moment and his mark began to itch at an insane level. He knew then that one of the three people behind the bar had to be his soulmate. Never before had he cared who had his matching mark until he walked into that bar. Now he wanted to know more than anything else in the world. 

"Nat, please."

But instead of looking at her friend, Nat turned her eyes to you. They were cold, but you noticed the slight hint of pleading there. Part of you agreed: Clint could do better than you. And if it meant you giving up your happiness, so be it. "Please, leave my bar before it gets ugly. You're friend is right: if your soulmate is here, you deserve better."

"How would you know?!" The anger in his voice hurt your heart, but your resolve didn't waver.

"Because I know every person who comes in here. Trust me, Agent Barton. It's best if you leave."

Clint looked at you with open animosity and you felt your heart being ripped out. "Fine."

It took every ounce of effort not to leap over your own bar and run after him. Watching the two of them walk out was the hardest thing you had ever done. Even harder than leaving Hydra. Clint looked over his shoulder one more time and you thought you were going to break down at that moment and beg him to stay. But before the words could leave your lips, he was out the door and out of your life. 


	3. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Nat fight over Clint’s soulmate.

It was dark and quiet inside the air vent. It was one of the many reasons why Clint spent so much time in them, despite Stark’s objections. He was parked in one of the more remote spots in the compound, had a magnetic light attached to the wall next to him, and he was currently tracing his soulmate mark with one finger. Never once while growing up had he really wondered about it. Sure, Clint thought it was interesting that apparently the universe would know better than him in regards to whom he should be with. But he never had the drive to see if there really was anyone waiting on the other side. Not until recently.

When he met Nat it was the first time in a long time he was curious about his soulmate mark. Or rather, she was curious about it. And in a way it made sense. They had clicked right away and had been joined at the hip ever since Clint recruited her for SHIELD. But when she saw that his mark had been on the inside of his left wrist and not the outside of his right ankle, Nat was devastated. Clint knew the moment she showed him her mark. Not just because it was in a different location, but because of what the mark was: a pair of green glasses.

Natasha was mad as hell when she realized what it had meant. She had unloaded clip after clip after clip at the gun range before practically destroying a punching bag. Everyone stayed at least fifty feet away from her the whole time, especially her supposed soulmate, Bruce. Nothing had baffled the scientist more than realizing the spider on his ankle had meant a former assassin was his soulmate and not another scientist. The two could not have been more different. But because of his side-effect of turning into the Hulk, Bruce never wanted a soulmate. He told Nat he wasn't upset with her not wanting him; it kept her safe. Luckily it didn't ruin the friendship between the two once Nat had finally calmed down about the news. Unfortunately, calming down had zero effect on her still wanting Clint. And they had given it a chance. Went against the universe's wishes. And the next morning had been awkward as hell. Almost as if he had spent the night with his sister instead of a friend. Clint told Nat that would never happen again and she left to vent all over again.

There were soft footsteps below where Clint was parked and then a soft banging on the panel before him. He just ignored it. The tapping came once more followed by a voice. "C'mon out, Hawkeye. You can't sulk in there forever."

"Shows what you know, Nat." He never took his eyes off the burning phoenix on his wrist.

Below he could hear her sigh. "C'mon, Barton. Don't be mad. I made the right choice."

"It wasn't your choice to make, Romanov." There was no mistaking the hurt and anger in Clint's voice. "I didn't get in the way when you talked to Bruce. I didn't try to persuade him one way or the other. I even gave us a try."

Nat tried to look through a vent grate to get a look at Clint, but he was tucked too far back. "Trust me, if your soulmate is in that rat hole you're doing yourself a favor by staying away."

Before she could even blink, Clint was out of the vent and in her face. "THAT WAS NOT YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE! You got to choose in regards to Bruce and I need to make this choice!"

"Since when have you actually given a rat's ass about this?!"

"Since I finally felt my mark go off! I'm sorry I can't ignore it like you did!" Clint almost winced at the pain that flashed in her eyes, but he was still too hurt by what she had done. "And frankly, I don't want to ignore it."

"Clint-" but she was cut off by Clint abruptly leaving the room. Nat rushed to chase after him. "Clint, wait! Please, you need to trust me on this!"

He marched straight into the common room of the compound, startling the team members that had been gathered to watch a movie. Tony looked at Clint first and then and Nat trying to follow. "Uh, hey guys. You wanna keep your game of tag outside?"

Nat threw a glare at him before continuing after Clint as he walked through the kitchen to get to the garage. "You don't understand! I'm doing you a big favor! You are way better off without her. She-"

Her voice was cut off the moment Clint whirled around to face her. "Wait, you know who it is, don't you?"

The silence in the room was deafening. Steve motioned for people to leave the room, but everyone's eyes were glued to the two long time best friends. Nat held her ground, but it was clear that she was uncomfortable with the subject.

"You don't know the crowd that frequents that bar like I do. Former and current assassins, mercenaries, thieves, and any other kind of scum you can think of. Hell, the owner of the bar is a former assassin herself! I don't want to lose you to someone like that."

"To someone like that... or to her?" Nat held her breath for a brief moment. "It was her, wasn't it? The owner. That's why you made me leave after you talked to her. ISN'T IT?!"

Nat flinched at Clint's tone. She took a shaky breath and a step towards him. "She isn't good enough for you. I know you don't want me, but it can't be her. You can't possibly understand how much it can't be her!"

Clint' balled up his fist, his whole body shaking. He had never been betrayed by Nat in all the years he had known her. Hell, he figured if she was going to it would have been shortly after taking her from the KGB. But this? He was completely blindsided. He glanced down at his wrist for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"A phoenix, rising from the flames," he muttered mostly to himself. Realization slowly dawned on him and he raised his eyes to look at Natasha. "What's another name for a phoenix? Firebird?"

"Clint-"

"That's why you wanted me to stay away. To leave the bar. The former assassin Firebird owns that bar, doesn't she?"

Nat's eyes flickered away from Clint's for a moment. "Yes. But-"

Clint held up his hand to silence her. Everyone in the room took a step back as they watched Clint shake with open hostility. "What gives you the right?"

"Hawkeye-"

"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HER?!" Nat and everyone in the room jumped at his outburst. "You were just like her at one point, in case you forgot! A tool used by the KGB. She freed herself just like Bucky did. She gave up the life. WHY ISN'T SHE GOOD ENOUGH?!"

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "I will not apologize for keeping you away from a woman who literally set people on fire with her mutation. It's not the same as what I or Bucky used to do. We never made people suffer when we killed them."

Clint looked at her with new eyes. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, Black Widow. We tried to see if we could defy the soulmate marks and it didn't work. And no matter how much you want it, there will never be another night like that."

"This isn't about-"

"Not again!" Clint slammed his hands against the kitchen counter. "You had no right to interfere with this, Nat. I always thought of you as my best friend, a sister. But this. This is a level of betrayal I never expected from you."

"Clint, please!" Her facade broke and tears were now flowing from her eyes. "You don't understand."

"No, Nat. You can't talk your way out of this one." He shook his head and looked at his friend. "You don't get a say in this, Nat. I'm going to find her and tell her what we are to each other. And hopefully she's open to the idea. If she is, I planned to bring her back here. It will be up to you whether or not you welcome her. But I am going to do everything I can to make sure she's a part of my life."

"Clint, don't!" He turned on her abruptly and continue his march to the garage. "Clint, please! Wait! Please talk to me! Don't do this!"

Nat chased after him, trying her best to keep pace. But Clint was too fast in his determination. Nat raced up just in time to see him climb onto his bike and race out the door.

"Clint!"


	4. Take A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint finds Reader alone in her bar.

The night had been far too long and frankly you could use a stiff drink. You cursed the Avengers in your mind as your poured a shot of vodka. If they had never shown up, never stayed, never- well, it doesn't matter now. The damage had been done. You downed the shot and poured another one before you went back to placing all the stools on top of the tables.

You had sent your crew home early along with all of your patrons. After everything you had found out, you couldn't take another minute of being around any people. Slowly you had made your way all over your establishment to clean up: the restroom where you and Nat fought, the pool tables, the hightops, and soon you'd hit behind the bar. It didn't matter if it took you all night, you were in no rush to get home. You had ordered pizza to be delivered and in between cleaning duties, you snacked on a slice or two. 

Back when you had been with Hydra, the soulmate mark had almost been burned off your body. The agents didn't want to risk their assassins coming across their soulmate on a mission and get completely derailed. Especially if the soulmate ended up being a target. But when they came with their white hot poker, you fought them off with ease and reminded them that fire wouldn't do a damn thing to you. They then threatened to carve it off you, to which you told them to attack you when you were asleep to give them a fighting chance. In retrospect, maybe you should have let them remove the mark.

You glared at your wrist. “Just think of all the nonsense I could have saved myself if you had just be scrapped off.”

A former SHIELD agent turned Avenger as your soulmate. The universe had a sick sense of humor. You were making your way to the bar when a weird scratching noise caught your attention. Were you drunk or was it coming from the bar’s ceiling?

Making sure not to alert the source of the noise, you casually walked over to the wall and flicked the lights off. There was a quick shuffle from above followed by the sound of someone jumping down from an air vent. You whirled and shot a fireball at the intruder, missing on purpose as a warning. The sudden light from the fire in the completely dark room caused the person to stumble back and knock over a stack of chairs on their way down.

“Holy fuck!” A voice called out over the noise.

Your jaw dropped in shock. “Hawkeye?!”

“Christ, guess I forgot that I shouldn’t sneak up on you like that.” You flicked on the lights to see Clint lying on a pile of chairs. “This is not at all how I planned for this to go.”

You blinked at the man a few times before you busted out into a fit of giggles. This day had been so absurd and now your soulmate lying on a pile of chairs after you almost torched his ass was the icing on the cake. You fell back against the wall as the laughter overtook you and you slid to the floor.

“Also not the reaction I was hoping to receive tonight," Clint grumbled as he rolled off the chairs. "So now my body and ego are equally beat up.”

“I’m- I’m sorry, but-“ you tried to take a breath to calm yourself. “This day was already so fucking weird before you decided to fall from the sky.”

Clint looked you up and down as you tried to get a hold of your laughing fit. This is who Nat didn't want you to be around? The big bad assassin who was giggling on the floor of her bar like a kid? For some strange reason, seeing you like this just made him fall for you a little harder. He carefully scooting closer to you. "I'm coming over. Please don't torch my ass."

This gave you the giggle fit all over again as Clint scooted until he was sitting next to you, but facing your way. "I'm sorry! But what the actual hell, man?! Why were you breaking into my bar via the air vent? You do know I have a front door. I saw you use it earlier tonight."

"I didn't think you would let me in. Though in retrospect, breaking into a bar owned by a mutant that can light people on fire isn't exactly the smartest idea I've ever had."

"No. No, it wasn't."

Clint pretended to look offended. "And just how would you know?"

"Listen, if you thought breaking into my bar to talk to me was brilliant in the moment, I can only imagine what other whoppers have crawled into that head of yours."

"Ok, that's fair." Clint couldn't help but laugh with you. "So.... other than my breaking and entering, what do you think about this whole thing?"

You bit on your lower lip as you thought. "Honestly? It's a disaster waiting to happen. Part of me was just thinking how this could have been avoided if I had just let the Hydra agents remove my mark."

Clint's face fell. "Really?"

"Yeah. But it's clearly too late for that. And now? Well now I'm annoyed on a few different levels."

"Such as?" Clint could feel his heart breaking all over again.

"Such as 'why does my soulmate have to be an Avenger?' 'Why does he have to be good looking?' 'Why does his best friend have to be a bitch?' 'Why did I have to work for Hydra when I was younger?' To name a few."

He looked up into your eyes. "You think I'm good looking?"

You squint your eyes at him. "Out of everything I just said, _that's_ what you latch on to?"

"Hey, I need to cling on to something. I've had my heart crushed several times tonight."

"Wait, what? By who?"

"You," he watched as you raised your eyebrows in surprise. "Already I felt I didn't have a chance because of who you used to be and now you just said you wished Hydra removed your mark."

Sighing, you shook your head. "I did. But not because I don't want you. Because I'm not good enough for you."

"So, wait. You didn't think you had a chance with me?" Clint's brain was spinning. You actually wanted him? It was too much to hope for.

"Why would I? You're an Avenger and I'm a former Hydra assassin. The two don't exactly go hand in hand. As Black Widow clearly saw."

Clint frowned. "Please don't bring her up. She's the reason I almost didn't come tonight. Nat wanted to keep you a secret."

"Understandable, really. She knows better than most what I truly am. Or at least, what I truly was. I could never be good enough."

"What if I don't want good enough? What if I want what's perfect for me? Yeah, you used to do some horrible shit. We've all done things in our past we regret. But you pulled yourself out and made a new life for yourself. I don't want anyone else. And frankly, Nat can go fuck herself if she doesn't agree."

Looking into his eyes, you could see he truly meant it. Before you could stop yourself, you quickly leaned in and kissed him. You pulled back just as quickly, feeling your mark going crazy. There was a beat of silence before Clint pulled you back in and soon you two were clawing at each other on your bar floor. You had never felt anything like this before and you couldn't believe you were going to deny yourself a chance to be with him. Like Clint, you had tried to move on from the mark with just as equally disastrous results. No other time had even come close and frankly, you never wanted to go back to that.

When you were done, you both lied on the floor panting, inches from each other. Clint managed to speak first, "ok. Full disclosure. Did not expect my night to go this good."

That sent you back into your laughing fit. "Same here, Hawkeye. So now what do we do?"

"Now, I take you back to the compound and introduce you to everyone. And eventually you move in and we begin a really cheesy domestic life together."

You rolled your eyes. "Ok, so realistically what do we do now?"

"Well, the first part still applies. And we go from there. I don't want you to give up this bar, but I will support whatever you choose to do."

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep my clientele once they find out who my soulmate is. Maybe I'll sell it."

"And then?"

You turned to look at him. "I guess I could always become an Avenger."

Clint smirked at you. "Oh the horror!"

"Keep talking, Hawkbutt. You'll just talk me right out of it."

He rolled over so he was looking down at you. "Never. I'm yours as long as you can stand me.”

“It’s a deal. So let’s get off this dirty floor and go see if your bed is any better.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think. Should I add another chapter? I kinda ended it, but if it's unsatisfactory let me know in the comments!


	5. Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawkeye introduces Reader to the Avengers

You slowly began to wake up and the first thing you noticed was how unusually comfortable your bed was. There were things you were willing to spend money on and a mattress hadn't been one of them. Mainly because of how you practically lived at work.

When an arm snaked over your midsection, you freaked out for a moment and jumped out of the bed. Whirling around, your confusion subsided when you saw a very tired Hawkeye looking up at you like you had lost your mind.

"What the hell? It's just me," he half mumbled into his pillow.

"Sorry, I forgot for a moment what had happened. I'm too used to sleeping alone."

"That's fair. Now come back to bed. It's too damn early."

You smirked at him and began to crawl back in where there was a knock on his door. Clint looked at you and then the door. You could tell from the look on his face he had a damn good idea who was doing the knocking.

"Hawk? Can I come in? I really think we need to talk about last night."

Instead of getting back into bed, you bent over and grabbed your underwear and then a shirt from the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Duh, I'm going to answer the door."

"Dressed like that?"

You looked down and noticed that the purple arrow in the middle was a dead give away as to who the owner was. A smirk graced your face. "Oh, I think this is rather apropos, don't you think?"

"She's an assassin. If you piss her off-"

"She'll _try_ to kill me. But in case you forgot I can literally set things on fire. No, I won't set her on fire, but a warning blast ought to do it."

Clint could only stare after you helplessly as you sauntered over to the door to go face to face with Natasha while wearing his shirt. You opened the door and leaned against the frame to smile at the fellow assassin as she gaped at you.

"Hey, I know you want/need/whatever to talk to Clint, but he's a little in dispose right now so it'll have to wait. But I'll be sure to let him know you stopped by once he wakes up.... I mean, once I have time to." Your smile turned into a smirk near the end.

Nat balled up her fists and took a step forward, but stopped short when you lifted a hand that was covered in flames.

"Yeah, let's not and say you did. Okay? For some reason Clint wants to keep you around as a friend despite what you tried to do yesterday and I'd hate to have to tell him you were now a pile of ashes."

She let out a measured breath before leaning in. "This won't last. You're not his type."

"The universe says otherwise, Sweet Widow." You whispered back. "Now, do yourself a favor and leave. Don't worry, you'll get another shot at me. I'm not leaving any time soon."

And with that, you closed the door in her face and walked back to the bed. Clint was now sitting up to look at you. "I know I should be mad that you talked to her that way, but honestly? She really pissed me off last night and seeing you in charge like that really turned me on."

"Did it now?" You crawled onto the bed until you were right in front of him. Before you could even lay a kiss on him, there was another knock on the door. "I swear to fuck if it's the spider again, I will light her ass on fire."

"Clint," came an unfamiliar voice, "we need to talk as a team about last night."

Hawkeye groaned, "go away, Cap! I'm really tired and not in the mood."

"I'm afraid that wasn't a request, Barton. Fury's here."

Clint groaned again. "Ok Steve, give us a few minutes."

There was a noticeable pause before Steve called out again. "Us?"

You glanced down at Hawkeye. "Way to go."

"Hey, not my fault. My brain doesn't function before coffee."

"Well, you better say something!"

He sighed then called out louder. "I'll explain at the meeting, Cap! Just.... give me a few. And leave a pot of coffee in the kitchen."

"Alright."

Once you both were sure he had left, you got off the bed and began to dress in your clothes, tossing Clint his shirt. "Well this will be interesting."

"I was really hoping to get a few more minutes with you," he looked up at you meaningfully.

You just smirked at him, "a shame really. But if we delay any longer I have a feeling one of them will eventually break down the door."

Clint flopped back onto his bed with a loud groan. "Goddamnit."

You just continued to get dress and waited for Clint to join you. He got up, dressed, and immediately pressed you against the wall for a quick, rough kiss. "We're going to be late."

"We are definitely finishing this later."

"I'll hold you to that." You gave him one last kiss before walking out of the room.

Clint led you down the hall and around a few corners until you came to a glass room that held a conference table, Nick Fury, and the remaining Avengers. Who all dropped their jaws at once as you followed Clint into the room. You kept your head up as you followed Clint around the table to the two empty seats at one end. Once you sat, you found yourself across the table from Nick Fury.

"Good morning, Director Fury." You greated calmly.

"Hmm," came his response before addressing the rest of the team. "Can someone please explain to me why a former Hydra assassin is here?"

"I assume you're referring to me and not Barnes," you quipped before turning your head. "By the way, hope things have gotten better for you since you left."

"Well, it certainly hasn't been boring," came Bucky's reply and you smirked at this.

"I'm still waiting on an answer," Fury stated.

"You can blame Barton for this one," Natasha growled. "He brought that-"

"Careful," your voiced calmly, "you wouldn't want to say the wrong thing, now would we?"

"____ is, uh, she's my," Clint took a breath. "She's my soulmate.

"Mother fucker," was the instant response. 

"Yeah, that was my first reaction last night." Your smirk remained as you raised your eyebrows in a quirk. 

Fury looked between you and Clint. "Abso-fucking-lutely not. It's not happening, Barton."

"Time out," Tony chimed in. "What's not happening?"

"Clint wants to make me an Avenger."

Tony glanced over at you, "part of me is inclined to agree with Fury and part of me wants me to see you torch your old bosses."

"Been there, done that," came the nonchalant reply.

Sam's eyes went wide for a moment as he looked over at Steve. "This has bad idea written all over it."

Everyone at the table turned to look at you and you raised your hands in surrender. "This was not my idea and to be honest I'm not a hundred percent on board either. But the fact of the matter is my bar will go under the moment my clientele figure out what the hell happened to me so I need to sell it before that happens. I can always go be an X-Men, but I gotta feeling your archer isn't going to like that."

The table was silent as Fury looked over both you and Clint. Finally he let out a long sigh, "this used to be so goddamn easy. Fine, you're on the team. Trial only."

"Are you kidding me?!" Nat slammed her hands on the table and stood up to face Fury. "Do you know what she is?!"

"You better watch your tone, Romanov. And I know exactly who she was. She was just like you and Barnes: someone looking to turn her life around. So unless you would like to start from the bottom again, I suggest you back it up." Nat seethed but sat back down. "The other reason why I'm saying yes is because I've come across this before. A person wanted to defect and become a SHIELD agent because that's where their soulmate was. I refused to let them in despite promises from the agent. It cause my agent to become distracted and later get killed on a mission. It's just easier to keep them both under the same roof than have Barton's head elsewhere."

Clint reached over to take your hand. "Thank you, Fury."

"Don't thank me yet. She still has to earn her place here just like everyone else did. If you can't cut it, we'll have to find a different job for you."

"Yes, Fury." He raised an eyebrow at you but could see you were being sincere.

"I wanted to talk about the fight that apparently happened here last night, but something tells me you were the cause of it."

"No, Nat was. She wanted to keep me from knowing who my soulmate was."

Fury sighed at this. "Alright. Two weeks suspension for you, Romanov."

"What? WHY?!"

"You know damn well why! You were on the mission where that other agent died! You knew damn well what could happen to Barton and you were willing to let it happen anyway. This is not up for discussion. You're all dismissed." Then he grumbled, "I'm getting too old for this babysitting shit."

Fury left the room in a huff and Natasha was close behind, stopping in the doorway to glare. You waited for some threat or warning or both, but instead she looked at Barton and you could see the hurt in her eyes. Before anyone could move, she raced out of the room. Clint sighed and let his head fall back.

"Well, this should be fun."

You stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back later."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think?"

"Uh uh! No way! That won't end well!"

"I have to otherwise it's just going to hang in the air between the three of us until one of us dies. This won't take long."

Clint never had a chance to protest before you were out the door. Tony looked over at Clint. "I hope you weren't too attached to Widow, Katniss."

"Shove it, Stark," he growled before leaving the room. He found the nearest air vent and hopped inside to find you before you could do something stupid.

You only got lost once in your pursuit to find Nat. Being cut from the same cloth, it didn't take you long to figure out she would have gone to either the gym or the shooting range. You hit the gym first and got lucky. The punching bag Nat was taking her anger out on was already starting to rip at the seams. Before you could move, the bag broke free from it's hook and headed towards you. Tossing a hand up, the bag burst into flames and slammed onto the gym floor. With another wave of your hand the flames disappeared before they had a chance to scorch anything else. Nat glared at you as she continued to breath heavily from the work out.

"And here I thought only Cap could do something like that. I'm impressed."

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Just to talk. I'll even stay across the room if you want."

"I have nothing to say to you."

You nodded your head at that. "Perhaps. So fight me."

That threw her off guard. "What?"

You stepped up to her until you were only a foot apart. "Fight. Me."

She scoffed and took a step back.

"I'm being serious. No powers. No weapons. Just us."

You didn't think she was going to take your offer until she suddenly rush at you full tilt. Bracing yourself, you locked your hands on her shoulders and rolled onto your back, using the momentum to flip her over your body. You both rolled into a crouch and she was on you again. Circling each other, fists flew, kicks landed, and bruises were forming. You got her in a headlock but she easily flipped it on you and had you pinned to the floor. Letting go, you waited for the one punch she wanted: the one to your face.

Nat pulled back her fist, anger and hurt all over her face as tears streamed down. You're not sure when she had started crying during the fight, but you knew it was smart not to mention it. She let out a sob and then dropped her hand, succumbing to her feelings for the first time in years. You waited until she had rolled off you before you moved to crouch next to her, but you kept your hands to your side.

"Why did it have to be you? Why couldn't it have been me? It's not fair."

"No, it isn't. And that's exactly what I said to Barnes."

Her head snapped up so fast you were worried she had given herself whiplash. "What?!"

"He thought I was his soulmate. Hydra didn't always have him under his trance; that was mainly for mission. So he and I would talk about whatever we could. He didn't remember much about his past so we mostly talked about me and what was going on in the world. He developed feelings for me, but when he saw our marks didn't match he was very upset. He begged me to try and I did because Hydra was all I knew. Of course it didn't work and when he got upset I simply told him it wasn't fair. Because it was and is true. The soulmate thing isn't fair. And when Hydra found out what we were trying to do, they moved Barnes to Siberia to be reprogrammed and tried to have my mark removed."

Nat looked at you with new eyes. She took a couple of deep breaths before speaking. "It's going to take me a while to be ok with all of this."

"I know."

"And honestly, I don't hate you but I sure as shit not ready to be your friend."

You gave a half smile. "I wouldn't trust you if you wanted to be."

She nodded her head, stood up, and held out a hand for you. You let her pull you to your feet. "I'll see you around, Firebird."

"See you around, Black Widow." Nat quietly left the room and you looked up, "you can come down now."

Hawkeye dropped effortlessly from the air vent. "How did you know I was there? And how did you keep her from killing you? And why didn't you tell me you slept with Bucky?"

You couldn't help but laugh. "Why don't we head back to my bar? I'll answer all your questions there while I contact Weasel."

"Weasel? The guy who owns St. Mary's? Why?"

"Who else is going to buy a place like mine? I'm sure he knows of someone who can manage it. C'mon Hawkbutt. Let a girl buy you a drink."

Clint wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. "As long as that girl is you."

You gave him a quick kiss. "Always."


End file.
